All we can do is keep breathing
by inzaghina
Summary: In the aftermath of the first year spent together they all think they've lost their chance at love. All they can do is keep breathing and remember to never give up. Decidedly MerDer with some Alex&Izzie. All characters included. [Now being fixed to be updated]
1. Fools in love

Meredith Grey was staring at the ceiling. After two hours of sobbing and crying an exhausted Cristina Yang had collapsed on the couch next to her and she was left with her own thoughts. Derek's words were echoing through her head _Put me out of my misery… _She should have just done that really, staying with her was wrong for him, he was hopeful, he was a dreamer, he believed in happy endings, he just deserved better. She loved him, he was the only one she had ever loved actually, that was why she had to end it. Of course she would have suffered, but his happiness had to come first; she was too dark and twisty for him. Not even Burke and Christina could make it, how could she even be thinking about making it? She closed her eyes begging for sleep, even though she was still in a sitting position, but Derek's face showed up as soon as her elides were shut. A few tears escaped her eyes as she sobbed in silence, she would have got to cry herself to sleep.

* * *

Derek Shepherd was knocking at the door of his Chief 's house, not really remembering why he decided to come here in the first place.

"Hey Shep! To what do I owe the pleasure to have you here?" his Chief was smiling broadly.

"Have you seen Preston?" was his blunt response.

"Uhm… no, not since I told him he was not going to be Chief. Why?"

"Well… he sort of walked away. He broke things off with Christina and I was wondering if you had, maybe, heard from him…"

"Oh… that is so out of the blue… but I'm sorry Derek, I haven't heard from him…"

Richard led him to his living room and sat down, motioning for him to do the same.

Derek sat down his head lifeless in his hands "I think Meredith is trying to break up with me…" he managed finally, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Oh… this is a bit overwhelming. Lots of things seem to have happened today. Why do you think Meredith wants to break up with you?"

"Well.. I don't think she believes in happily ever after anymore… not after today anyhow, but I'm not sure I ever made her truly believe in it. She's too broken now, I don't know if she's going to let me prove her that she'd anything but ordinary… that she's the love of my life… that's why I cannot be Chief, not yet anyhow."

"You don't have to worry about the Chief position, I talked with Adele and the board. I will still be Chief, but I'll work less and I'll make more time for my wife, after all Seattle Grace works just fine without me…"

Derek tried to smile "Good… it'll be good to still have you there…" he murmured.

"So… what are you going to do about Meredith? I'm sure you're not thinking about giving up, are you?"

"No, of course no…" he sighed "she is it for me, you know?" he paused and looked at his mentor " I don't know how to make her understand what she means to me… she… uhm, I'm sure she loves me, but I'm not sure about what to do, we're meant to be together, but she doesn't seem to understand…"

"Then you'll have to make her listen!" both men turned around and were faced with the sight of Adele, she had joined them with the cordless phone in her right hand. She passed it wordlessly to Richard who took it and went to the kitchen to answer to the call.

Adele sat next to Derek and looked at him, he was staring at his shoes, eyes rimmed with tears. She put her hand on his right shoulder and he finally looked up.

"The girl loves you very much…when I spent the day with her I understood it, it was in the way she looked at you when she thought I was not looking at her, in the smile she gave you when we met in the hallway and in the sigh she made when I asked her about you. She might think she doesn't deserve a happy ending, but she does. She's so different from her mother and even though I love Addison very much, I know that you two belong together, so you need to fight for her Derek, don't give up now!"

"I'm not thinking about giving up Adele, it's just… I told her that she was the love of my life and she ran away, she told me that she had to make sure that Cristina got married… why? I don't… I don't understand…"

"She's scared my dear, she's never had an easy life and she doesn't know what an happy ending is and you have made her suffer very much during the last year…"

"I know that, but I thought we were past that…"

"I'm sure you are, but she must be afraid you could leave her again… haven't you thought about that possibility? And maybe… well, maybe you have not been perfect during these last months together either. Richard told me that the race for Chief was rough…"

"I was absent for a while… after she gave up in the water I didn't know what to do and… focusing on my career seemed simpler, but then… when Richard offered me the job I knew I couldn't accept it, Meredith… she's the most important thing for me and I'm not ready to be Chief, not without her by my side…"

"Just like you told these things to me you'll have to tell them to Meredith…"

"But she's so stubborn, I don't think she'll listen. I…"

"I already told you, you'll have to make her listen and then maybe you'll have to repeat those things… whatever it takes to convince her giving you a second chance…"

"It would actually be a third chance…"

"Even better, don't they say _third time is the charm_?"

Derek truly smiled this time and thanked Adele, then Richard joined them again.

"It was Preston…"

"What happened to him?" Derek was concerned.

"He asked me some time off… I told him to come back whenever he'll feel ready… he sounded broken."

"You should have seen the look in Cristina's eyes" whispered Derek getting up.

"I can imagine…"

They accompanied him to the door and told him goodnight even though they all knew he wouldn't have slept at all.

* * *

Next morning came way too soon for everyone. Meredith had tried to sleep while sitting and Cristina had woken up soon after she had collapsed, but she had pretended to be asleep.

In the trailer Derek was lonely, his bed smelled like lavender and everything in the small place reminded him of Meredith.

Izzie had baked all night long and, when Alex came down after a sleepless night she offered him four different kinds of muffins.

"What's wrong with you Izz?" he asked grabbing a chocolate chip one.

"Nothing is wrong… why would something be wrong?"

"Because you're baking, and when you bake there is usually something wrong. I know you more that you think Dr Model!" he grinned at her stuffing the rest of the muffin in his mouth and reaching for a blueberry one.

"Well, Dr Evil Spawn… nothing is wrong with me I just couldn't sleep and I decided to bake breakfast for everyone… after all we need to celebrate… we are not interns anymore, we are residents, we're on the way to be real doctors!" she smiled back then added "Do you think Cristina will be at work today?"

"Oh… I don't know… it must have been so hard. We should call Grey maybe"

"Hey, does that mean that you have a heart after all?"

"I think I already proved you I have one " was his comeback.

"You actually did… let's call Meredith then…" she grabbed her cell phone and pushed the speed dial for Meredith's cell phone.

"Hey, how about George? I haven't seen him yesterday…"

She didn't look at him in the eyes and whispered " I don't know… you should probably ask his wife"

"Something wrong with him?"

She mouthed no then Meredith picked up the phone "Hey Mer… me and Alex were worried about you two… have you guys slept?"

"Well, I didn't, but Cristina did, at least for a while"

"Are you both coming to work?"

"Uhm… I don't think Cristina is…" she looked at her person, she was staring ahead of her, where Burke's saxophone used to be.

"Well, see you later then… in the locker room?"

"Yeah… I'll meet you guys there in an hour or so…"

They both hung up. Meredith went to stand on Cristina's side and hugged her, even though she was not the hugging type. She started sobbing again. Meredith held her without talking, she didn't know what to say. Finally it was Cristina who broke the silence "You can go have a shower, while I make some coffee, I'm sure there is a pair of scrubs somewhere…"

"You don't need to worry, I have two spare pairs at the hospital, but I'll gladly take a shower… are you sure you don't need me to make the coffee?"

"Nah… I like making coffee, go take a shower Mere"

"You're not coming to work, are you?" she whispered.

"No, not today at least… I'm not ready to go back there and… answer questions and…" her voice was broken by a sob "he left Meredith… what am I going to do?"

"I don't know… I whish I did, but… I don't know Cristina. Just, remember that I'm on your side, everyone is… and you'll come back when you're ready"

"Go take a shower, before you make me cry again!"

Meredith tried to smile, maybe her person was coming back, then she went in the bathroom and turned on the water. She stepped in and let the hot liquid pour over her body, she knew it couldn't wash away her sadness, but she could still enjoy the warmness and take a little time to think about the start of her residency.

* * *

Forty minutes later Meredith was tying her hair in a ponytail, while Alex was struggling to put the scrub top on and Izzie was trying to make her eat a raspberry muffin. She finally gave up and grabbed the muffin, after all Izzie was a great baker. Izzie smiled satisfied and she chewed absentmindedly.

"So?" her friend pressed.

"It's good Izzie, delicious… but you don't need me to tell you this, do you?"

"No… I wasn't talking about the muffins, I know they are great… I was talking about Cristina, how is she holding up?"

"Not so great, but… she's Cristina, she's strong, but she's not ready to be back yet, I'm sure the Chief will understand" she reached for another muffin, because she found herself suddenly hungry.

Izzie's smile grew wider as she passed her a chocolate chip one.

"Where the hell is Bambi anyhow?" Alex was finally dressed and he was eating another muffin.

The girls turned around looking quite surprised.

"I thought he would have been here by now… he's going to be late. Have you heard from him Izzie?"

"Nope… I haven't, why should have?"

"Hey, Bambi is _your _best friend!" was Alex's come back.

"Well, but I'm not his baby sitter, am I?"

The pair start bickering, while Meredith drank a sip of water. Then she decided to stop them "How about we go find ourselves something to do?"

They both nodded and they left the locker room, only to be faced with the sight of Bailey's new interns. She was giving them the speech and one of them was not paying attention, but that was not the reason they were staring… the intern was George.

"What's he doing there?"

"I don't know Alex… do you think we should tell him we're not interns anymore?"

"Oh… I knew something was wrong, I cannot believe he didn't tell me, though… I thought I was his best friend!"

"What are you blabbing about Izzie?"

"He must have not passed the exam, what else would he be doing there with the new interns?"

"But he said he passed, why would he lie?"

"I don't know…" was all Izzie whispered.

Alex was about to say something when Addison Montgomery joined them.

"So I heard you're residents now…"

The three of them nodded, still staring wide-eyes at George and his fellow interns.

"How about you come help me Karev? I have a woman carrying triplets in pre-term labor"

"Sounds fun!" he had a cocky grin on his face.

"Meredith… how is Yang holding up?" Addison added before leaving.

"Not so good, but… she's a fighter, you know?"

The older woman smiled and then she followed Alex towards the neonatal wing.

"So… Alex found something to do… and we are just staring… interesting…"

Izzie was not paying attention though "I cannot believe it… not only she want to have a kid with him, she doesn't let him talk to me"

"What are you talking about Izzie?"

"It has got to be Callie's fault… why else would George not tell me about this?"

"Maybe… well, maybe he was scared"

"Of what? I would never make fun of him, if he thinks that, he doesn't know me at all!"

Just then Bailey was done with the assignments for her new interns and she joined her former ones.

"By the surprise on your face I understand that he didn't tell you…"

"That's right, he didn't even tell me, his best friend!"

"Stevens, what O'Malley did is his own business, you know how hard it is to retake your first year of residency? Do you have any idea?"

They both whispered no "Neither do I… let's give him some time, all right? Thanks God Shepherd requested him today, so he won't feel like a total failure…"

"Derek… I mean Dr Shepherd requested him?"

"Yes Grey, he thought it would have been a good idea to not have him waste his talent, even though he didn't pass the exam it doesn't mean he's not a good doctor"

"I know that…"

"Anyhow, I'm not here to gossip, I was paged for a consult in the pit, and since you're both here I thing you should join me. Where did Karev go?"

"Dr Montgomery has a woman with triplets in pre-term labor…"

"Good… how's Yang doing?"

"Not so good, she'll be back at some point though… should I go tell the Chief?"

"Don't worry I'll do that later Grey… let's go now!"

As Meredith waited for the elevator's doors to open she suddenly remembered that she should have known better. The doors opened and, as people started to emerge, her eyes were caught by two figures standing in the back, wearing dark blue scrubs who were deep in conversation. She got in along with Izzie and Bailey and he finally looked up. His blue eyes locked with hers and she let go of a breathe she didn't know she was holding. Mark Sloane was also looking at her, but she didn't notice.

"Hey…" he finally whispered.

"Hi…" she breathed back as Izzie elbowed her in the ribs.

"How's Cristina?"

"She's not so good, but… you know her… she's a fighter, she's broken now, but she'll be back…" she felt herself smiling and she didn't know the reason. She actually knew it was the sight of Derek who made her smile, but she didn't want to think about that, she promised herself she would have put an end to his misery, but this sounded way too hard now that their eyes were locked.

"Oh… I went to the Chief yesterday night. Preston actually called, he asked some time off, but I don't know where he is, maybe he told Richard, but he didn't tell me…"

"I see, I will tell Cristina…"

"Okay…"

"Okay…"

The elevator's doors opened again and they all got out.

"See you later Meredith… bye Stevens, bye Miranda…"

"Yeah… see you later Der… Dr Sloane…"

The three women went towards the pit, while the men went for a consult in a room on the other side.

"That, my man was the most pathetic conversation ever!" Mark was looking concerned.

"Mind your own business Mark!"

"If you want to win her back I don't think that's the way to do it…"

"Of course I do and I also know that I cannot win her back like that… but we were in an elevator full of people…"

"We were, but you two seemed lost in your own little world…"

"We were…" he was still feeling the lavender scent.

"Than you should get a move on or someone else will steal her from you!"

"And who are you talking about?"

"Nobody Derek, but she's hot and if you don't claim her someone else will…"

"Why I told you about my problems is beyond me…" he sighed frustrated.

"You did it because you miss me…" Mark had a cocky grin on his face and Derek knew he was right, but he wouldn't have told him, not now at least.

They got in the exam room and found the doctor who had called for a neuro and plastic consult for his patient.

* * *

Later in the day at lunch Meredith was sitting with Izzie and Alex who was telling them about his case. The girls were scrubbing in with Bailey after lunch, they were removing a tumor in the guy that they examined in the pit. His car accident actually saved him, because he hadn't know about the tumor before and they had caught it early enough. She was about to do her first operation as a resident and all she could think about was Derek.

"Earth to Meredith… are you listening to us?"

"Sorry I have something in my mind…"

"Does that something have blue eyes, great hair and a killer smile?" Izzie wondered.

"Maybe…" she blushed and bit her sandwich.

"Well then, coming up… he's over there getting coffee…"

She looked up and saw him, he looked exhausted.

"Why don't you go talk to him Meredith?" asked Alex while stuffing his mouth with chips.

"Because…"

"That's not an answer, you know? Unless you're in a group of pre-school kids…" Izzie was grinning.

"I can't, okay… I need to sort out my thoughts… I don't know what to say and… we're here to work…" she was rambling.

"Whatever you say… you know you can't escape, right?" Alex was staring at her.

" I do…" she nodded "he's so damn stubborn!"

"But he loves you" Izzie interrupted her, while Alex nodded along.

"I do too…" she whispered.

Then they were joined by George who look exhausted.

"How could you not tell us?" Izzie attacked him.

He looked ashamed.

"Don't worry dude, she's overreacting…"

"I'm not Alex. We're his friends, how could he not tell us?"

"Izzie, give him a chance to talk…" Meredith pat George on the back.

"Well… it was out of the blue, I thought I did good and then I failed… I didn't know what to do… I wasn't even sure I was going to come back… but then again, I'm a surgeon, how could I not? So… I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I was ashamed…"

"It's okay…" was Meredith's response as Alex nodded.

Izzie still looked mad, bus it had nothing to do with the fact he didn't pass. To her George not telling her was like saying that she wasn't important for him and it hurt, it hurt too much.

She was about to say something, but Meredith grabbed her by the arm "We have to go prep out guy!" she said cheerfully.

The girls got up and left while Alex looked at George and grinned "Dude, she's so pissed at you!"

" I know she is…" he murmured.

"It'll pass, don't worry about it… so, any hot chicks in the new group?"

"Actually… there is Meredith's sister"

"Holy crap… that girl sure has so many problems it's not even funny!"

" I know…"

* * *

At the end of the day Meredith, Izzie and Alex said bye to George, who was stuck in the hospital for 48 hours straight, and went to pick up Cristina, they decided it was better for her to not stay at Burke's.

As the two cars pulled up in the driveway of Meredith's house they all felt like something was different, a new page of their life was starting.

The four doctors got in the house and collapsed on the couch. Alex turned on the TV, some medical drama was on, he was about to switch channel, but the three girls stopped him. He whined and went in the kitchen to get some other muffins, then joined them on the couch again.

"When this is over we're watching some wrestling!" he said.

"In your dreams Karev!" was Christina's answer.

"At least some of your mom's surgery Grey!" he whined.

"That we can do…" Meredith smiled, she could get through this. She had friends by her side and she knew Derek loved her. True, she was an avoider, but she would have got to talk to him and maybe it was better to do so sooner rather than later.

That night everybody slept better than the previous one.


	2. Kiss the rain

As raindrops kept falling angrily on the roof of Meredith's house, and everywhere else in Seattle, Cristina kept sipping her coffee. Soon her friends would have come down to have breakfast, after a quick shower. Even Meredith did so and it scared her a little, but the thing that scared her the most was the thought of going back to work. Five days ago she was about to get married and now? She used to be focused and always in control and then… she fell in love and she was left at the altar. It could have been considered ironic, except the fact that she was involved and she still loved Burke, so she didn't find it ironic at all. She sipped her coffee again as she was joined by two of her roommates. Meredith searched blindly for the coffee pot, while Izzie started to make french toast right away.

"Hey Cristina…" they both murmured.

"Hey… where is Evil Spawn?"

"Shower…" answered Meredith while putting milk in her coffee and preparing a cup for Izzie.

When Alex came down the smell of french toast was filling the entire first floor of the house and even Christina was chewing some of it.

"Morning ladies!" he was smiling broadly as he accepted a plate from Izzie.

"It's too early to be this cheerful, not even Barbie was like that when she came down"

"She's not a morning person" Meredith stated the obvious.

"Well, I don't care! Today is a good day since I have my first solo surgery!" he explained in between bites of french toast and fresh fruits.

Izzie and Meredith smiled "Congratulation Alex!"

"Yeah, whatever…" Cristina had a small smile on her face though.

"Nervous?" whispered Meredith.

"No… oh well, yes… but I'm still me, even if Burke broke my heart…" Meredith smiled.

"When are you planning on talking with McDreamy anyhow?" added her friend.

"Yeah Meredith, seriously…"

"I'm an avoider… I avoid"

"Yes, we know you are, but… you need to talk to him, he loves you and you shouldn't waste your chance at love" Izzie looked at her friends, a sad smile on her face.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong Alex… don't help Meredith change the subject…"

"Sorry, I didn't mean too" he flashed her a small smile.

"So?" Cristina kept staring at Meredith.

"So… what?" Meredith tried to play innocent.

"McDreamy! When are you gonna talk with the guy?"

"I don't know…" she mumbled pretending to be concentrated on her french toast.

"Why?" Izzie was focusing on her again.

"Because… he told me I was… the love of his life" she finally whispered blushing heavily.

"Seriously?" Izzie was beaming.

"And what did you do?" Cristina had a feeling _her person_ had probably done something stupid.

"I… uhm, well…" she paused "do we really have to talk about this? Why don't we talk about Alex's operation?"

"No, I'm listening… I'm interested in this" Alex was grinning at her.

"Spill it Meredith!" ordered Cristina pouring herself some more coffee.

"I told him I had to make sure you got married" she answered in a small voice.

"Seriously?" Izzie jaw's dropped while Cristina shook her head.

"It must have been great for his ego, I bet!" added Alex , a grin on his face.

"Okay, you know I haven't been McDreamy's biggest fan, but I think, I think that…the answer you were looking for was something like _I love you too_… " Cristina spoke using the tone that was usually reserved to small kids.

Izzie and Alex nodded vigorously, the french toast forgotten.

"But, well… I'm all dark and twisty, he's McDreamy… I won't ruin his chance at happiness"

"That's bullshit Meredith, the guy loves you and you love him too… you are just scared…"

"I think we should go, or we'll be late…" was all Meredith murmured in response. Izzie was about to keep going, but Cristina stopped her, clearly Meredith didn't want to talk about it, not now at least.

* * *

In one of the hospital's on call room Derek was staring at the ceiling. It had been five days and the only words that Meredith had spoken to him were the ones on the elevator on her first day as a resident. She had been avoiding him and she was damn good at avoiding, she had probably majored in avoiding in college. He would have got to be the one to start speaking again, corner her somewhere and making her listen. He couldn't let her go, not like that. Staring at the ceiling waiting for his pager to start beeping he knew that he would have got to be the one going over and telling her that she was the love of his life, even if she was trying so hard to shut him out of her life.

The day was slow, Izzie Stevens was working with him, they had a removal of a tumor pressing on the frontal lobe scheduled for the afternoon, so she was running some lab on the Neuro patients that were about to be operated and he was catching up with some paperwork.

He was busy going over the last operation he had done the day before when there was a knock on the door and Mark Sloane came in without waiting for his answer.

"Hey Shep…"

"Hey… shouldn't you wait for an answer before going inside someone else's office?"

"Maybe, but I wasn't sure if you would have let me in, so…" hi drifted off sitting opposite his former best friend.

"So… what's up?" he was too exhausted to put up an argument with him.

"I was wondering if you were interested in grabbing a drink together tonight… just like old times or something like that…" Mark found himself suddenly nervous.

"Uhm… well, actually tonight I think I should go talk to Meredith… she's avoiding me"

"Oh... I see, it's just that… will you ever give me the chance to prove you that I made a mistake, but… you're the closest thing to a brother I've ever had and…"

Derek stopped him "Mark… I'm sorry, I know that you've been trying to make it up to me somehow, but… well, I really need to talk to Meredith tonight. I don't want her to think that I've given up, because I haven't…"

"Oh… okay" he whispered "so, maybe… another night?"

"Yeah… even tomorrow if you are free… I am and Meredith is on call, so… you are the best alternative…" Derek found himself smirking.

"The best alternative? Should I be offended?"

"No… you can't blame me if I prefer Meredith to you though…"

"Touché… so, hey if Meredith doesn't want to listen to you I'll be at Joe's tonight…"

Derek truly smiled "all right…"

Mark was about to go out, but he stopped him "you should talk to Addie, you know?"

"And tell her what exactly?"

"You still love her, you can't lie to me… and you shouldn't lie to yourself either…"

"She clearly didn't want me…"

"Maybe she was just scared… maybe she made a mistake… if I can try to forgive you, you should definitely try to forgive her…"

"Maybe you are right…" he whispered before leaving.

* * *

At lunchtime the former group of interns found themselves together… Izzie was still mad at George, but she still hadn't got a chance to talk to him, so she was okay with him being with them. The others were just happy to stick together just like old times.

"So, Bambi… how's the new group of interns?" Cristina was curious, it was, after all, her first day back.

"Uhm… nothing special actually… they are kind of boring, I'm sure we won't cut any LVAD wire this year…" he tried to smile, he still hadn't told Meredith about her sister.

Alex stared at him, he was the only one who knew and he kept telling him that he should get a move on and tell her as well.

"Very funny, George!" Izzie was getting mad.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to remind you of Denny…"

"Yeah whatever… how's life with the wife?" she said bitterly.

"Not so good…"

"And why not?" Meredith found herself interested.

"Well, she is kind of disappointed that I failed…"

"So what? Does she think she's too good for you?" Cristina asked exactly what Izzie was thinking.

"I don't know…" he mumbled.

"Well, just tell her that you're still the man she married, even if you failed…" Meredith smiled at him.

"Oh… says the girl who doesn't want to speak with her boyfriend!" Cristina interrupted her and stared at her along with Izzie.

"Hey… we were talking about George, why do I always have to get pulled in, in those kind of discussions?" she was slightly annoyed.

"Because, Meredith, the fact that you're not talking with McDreamy is kind of stupid!"

"Well, I'm sorry if I'm disappointing you, but this is my decision to make… I'm not ready to talk with him… end of story!" she put the rest of her sandwich in her mouth, to put an end to the argument.

"Sorry Meredith…" both Izzie and Cristina murmured.

"It's okay" she answered when she was done chewing on her lunch. She then glanced at her pager "Crap, I gotta go… me and Addison are operating in half an hour, I need to prep the woman…"

They all mumbled bye as she run to the surgical floor.

"George, you need to tell her that her half sister works here… are you waiting for the girl to introduce herself to Meredith?"

"What are you blabbing about Evil Spawn?"

"Well… Meredith's half sister, Lexie is an intern this year…"

"What?" Izzie's mouth was hanging open.

"Yeah… she's an intern, we both have Bailey as our resident…"

"And… what are you waiting for to tell Meredith?"

"Well… I don't know…"

"George, don't be a baby… tell her when she's done with the surgery… she deserves to know…" Izzie had forgotten about her anger for a bit.

"Okay… I'll tell her when she comes out of surgery…"

After this Alex's pager beeped and the all decided that lunch was over and they went back to work.

* * *

When Meredith was done with her surgery she glanced at her watch, her shift was just about over… she would have gotten a 24 hours one the following day though.

"Good job in the OR Meredith…" Addison told her coming out from the scrub room.

"Oh… thanks… Dr Montgomery"

She smiled at the young doctor "have a good night…"

"Thanks, you too…" Meredith smiled back and went towards the locker room.

She was almost there when she stumbled up on George…

"Hey George…" she smiled "I'm going home…"

"Hey Mere… good for you… listen I need to tell you something…"

She looked at him, waiting for her friend to go on.

"Uhm… okay, so… you know that our half sister Lexie is a doctor right?"

"Why are we talking of her?" George was looking at her with a pleading look in his eyes, so she nodded.

"Good… then, well… you should know that… well, she's an intern… here at Seattle Grace… sorry I didn't tell you sooner I didn't know what to say and…"

"George, calm down… it's okay… she probably wanted to stay close to her father… now that her mother is dead…" she rambled out loud.

"So you're not mad at me?" ha asked.

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"Because I didn't tell you…"

"It's no problem George… thanks for telling me though… maybe you should introduce me to her…"

"Really?"

"Well…not right now, but… maybe…"

"Okay… well, have a good night…"

"Thanks, you too..."

She got into the locker room and changed herself, while she waited for Izzie and Cristina, Alex was on call that night.

* * *

"So… George told you, didn't he?" Izzie and Cristina were sprawled on Meredith's bed with her, eating ice cream from the tub.

"Yeah… my half sister works at Seattle Grace…"

"Maybe you've met her already and you didn't even know it was her…" Cristina piped in.

"Maybe… but I don't really care, you know… it's not her fault that my father abandoned me… and besides, Molly seemed quite nice…"

"Okay… but don't say that you're fine… we won't believe you!" Izzie was smiling.

Meredith smiled back "It's still raining" she added.

"What did you expect, we're in Seattle after all…" Cristina looked outside Meredith's window.

"I'm going downstairs to grab some other food, do you want something?" Izzie asked hopping off of the bed.

"Uhm… we should order pizza"

"Yeah, that's a good idea Meredith…" Cristina nodded along.

Izzie went downstairs and instead of grabbing something to eat she took the phone and ordered a big pizza with everything on top.

Fifteen minutes later the bell was ringing… Izzie ran downstairs surprised that the pizza was there already, she was even more surprised when she found herself staring at a very wet Derek Shepherd.

He was wet from head to toe and his eyes were sparkling with what seemed to be tears. He had his hands buried in the jeans' pockets and he hadn't bothered to take an umbrella with him.

"Dr Shepherd… hi" she tried to smile.

"You can call me Derek, you know…"

"Okay… Derek… hi… you want to speak to Meredith, don't you?"

"Yeah… do you think she'll listen to me?" raindrops were falling from his clothes creating a pool on the porch around his feet.

"You'll have to make her listen…"

"That's what everybody keeps saying to me…"

She smiled "I'll call her… do you want to come in?"

"I don't think it would be a good idea…" he tried to smile, but he found it impossible with the way he was feeling and how much his heart was beating.

Izzie disappeared on the stairs and he was left alone on the porch.

"Where's the pizza?"

"It wasn't the pizza guy Meredith…"

"Then who was it?" wondered Cristina.

"It's Derek… he wants to talk to you…"

"I… I don't want to go, what do I say to him, what…"

"Meredith, you have to go, he's on the porch, soaking wet and he wants to talk to you…"

Cristina nodded "You can't run away from this talk forever Meredith…"

She reluctantly got up from the bed and went downstairs… she opened the door and just the sight of him made her heart beat faster.

"Hey…" he whispered "I wasn't entirely sure that you would have come down…"

"I wasn't sure either…"

"So… we need to talk Meredith…"

"Yeah… I think we do…"

"What you said at the wedding… you weren't just talking about the ceremony, were you?" he was afraid of her answer.

"No…" she whispered in a small voice.

"Meredith… I don't want you to give up on me… on us… I know life was never easy for you, but… I want to spend the rest of my life proving you that you're not ordinary and that you are what saved me and what made me a better man…"

"Derek…" she tried to interrupt him, but he didn't let her.

"I know I've made some mistakes… I know I told you that I would have always showed up and…"

"And then you didn't…" she continued for him this time.

"And the I didn't…" he agreed "… I know I told you that I didn't know if I could keep breathing for you, but… Meredith… I want to breathe _with _you… please, give me the chance to prove you that you're the love of my life…" he had a pleading look in his eyes.

She was at a loss of words, he was saying all the right things and he was soaking wet on her porch, he had showed up because he knew that she would have kept going on with avoiding him. She was about to answer when the pizza guy came over.

The young man pushed the large pizza in Derek's hands "It's $14,50…" he reached for the wallet and gave him a twenty.

"Keep the change…" he said before giving the pizza to Meredith who called Izzie and Cristina.

They both came down and disappeared in the kitchen to eat.

"Do you want to come in and have a slice?" she whispered slowly.

"No Meredith… I just wanna make you understand that I'm not giving up on you… either you look at me in the eyes and tell me that you don't love me, or…"

She stared at him, deep blue eyes locking with her emerald ones… "I… cannot tell you that I don't love you" she finally whispered.

He let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding and smiled at her "That's good…"

"But… we need to go slow Derek… you hurt me over the past year… you hurt me bad…"

"I know I did… and I'm sorry, we'll go as slow as you want and I'll make it up to you, even if it's gonna take all my life…"

She truly smiled for the first time "Why are you putting up with this? Why don't you just wait for another girl to come up, someone who is not dark and twisty like me…"

"Because, _you are it_ for me… any other girl would mean nothing to me, you are the one I want and I will wait for as long as you want and spend the rest of my life with you…"

"Are you talking about marriage?" she was suddenly scared.

"Relax, I'm not talking about marriage, at least not now… but, someday, in the future, you'll be my wife and we'll have the perfect life… I'm not saying this to scare you, but… I think we should tell each other how we feel, I don't wanna end up losing you… okay?"

"Okay…" she nodded "so, where do we go from here?" she added.

"First of all, I'll gladly eat a slice of pizza and then… you could tell me when you think you'll be ready to go on a real date, just the two of us…"

Her smile grew wider as she opened the door and hung his wet jacket… she slipped her hand in his and they went in the kitchen.

_They would be okay_ as he felt her warm hand in his cold one, he couldn't help but smile broadly at her.


	3. Keep holding on

**AN: First of all I'm very truly sorry for not updating for so long, ****real life got in the way… vacation did too and now I'm catching up on a couple of exams I have left… I actually doubt that anybody was impatiently waiting for the rest of the story, but I do wanna keep writing it. **

**Just so you know Derek and Meredith are not back together yet, they decided not to give up on each other, but they are going slow. Enough with the rambling here is next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: these characters are not mine and never will be, even though I could have done a better job with the season 3 finale, honesty!**

"So she told you that she's not quite ready to date you yet?"

Derek nodded his head quietly then he took a sip from his glass, enjoying the taste of the warm liquid going down his throat.

"And you are okay with this?"

"Yeah, I screwed up big time, I'm just happy that she gave me another chance. I will prove her what she means to me, I will prove her that I love her" he looked at his former best friend who could see hope in his indigo eyes.

"Don't waste your chance man… you have no idea about how much it hurts…"

"Yeah… I never want to find that out. You know, she told me that she might come here to have a drink tomorrow night with her friends… it's not a date, but it's a good thing, right? I mean she did tell me so she probably would like to see me…" he was suddenly unsure, but Mark nodded vigorously.

"Yeah… why else would she have told you?"

"Actually… you should come as well. Have you got any plans for tomorrow night?"

Mark couldn't believe what he was hearing, Derek was inviting him to have drinks with his girl and her friends. He just nodded grinning slightly.

"How about another round? My treat…"

"Sure, why not… I have nowhere else to be and you are, after all, my second best choice of company right now!"

While Mark was making his way towards the crowded bar, Derek found himself smiling. He had really missed his best friend and he was willing to have him back in his life.

The following day at work was a blur for Derek. As the end of his shift was approaching he caught Meredith in the hallway and she smiled at him.

He smiled back, the smile that was known as the _McDreamy smile_, she jogged towards him.

"Hey…" she breathed.

"Hey yourself…" he answered smiling.

"So… I'm going to Joe's with Cristina, Izzie and Alex when my shift is over, in half an hour… are you coming?"

His smile got bigger "as a matter of fact I am… but my shift will be over in an hour or so… will you wait for me?"

"I can do that…" she answered smiling and starting to walk to the lab.

"All right… oh, Mere…" she turned around looking expectantly at him.

"I told Mark to come… would that be a problem?"

"Nope… not at all. Actually I think it's great, for you I mean… not that I'm interested in him or…" she was rambling and he had to suppress a laugh.

"I know he won't hit on you and I know you're not interested… I just thought that, maybe, we could save our friendship…"

"That's a great idea Der!" she smile and went inside the lab while he pressed the button and waited for the elevator that would have taken him to his office.

* * *

A little more than an hour later Derek and Mark entered the Emerald City Bay and spotted Meredith and her friends sitting at a table close to the bar.

They went towards them, Meredith was the first one to see them.

"Hey…" she said barely above a whisper, Derek was the only one to hear her clearly.

They smiled to each other, as the rest of the group nodded hello to each other.

"Dr Sloane…" said Izzie and Alex smiling slightly.

"You can call me Mark outside work…" both of them nodded, while Cristina kept on sipping her beer.

Derek took a sit next to Meredith and Mark took the other vacant one, between Derek and Alex.

As soon as the two attending sat, Alex stood up "time for another round… I'm buying"

Izzie raised an eyebrow questioning him silently.

"Well, I saved this chick's life today… so I'm happy and I wanna buy you guys a round. Got a problem with that?"

They all mumbled no and Izzie smiled broadly at him "way to go Alex!"

"So… I know that the girls are having… and I remember you drinking scotch, right Dr Shepherd?"

"You can call me Derek and you are right…"

"Okay, Derek. How about you… Mark?"

"I'll have the same Derek is having"

"All right, that makes it two beers, a cosmopolitan, two shots of Tequila and two double scotch single malt, right?" they all nodded and he walked towards the bar.

"Who exactly is having two shots of Tequila?" wandered Mark.

"That would be Meredith…" answered Derek, just as she was pointing to herself.

"I'm impressed!" said Mark smiling.

"I don't think you've ever seen any other girl handling alcohol as good as Meredith can" Izzie piped in.

"Really?"

"Yup!" Izzie, Derek and Meredith were nodding.

"Now I don't understand how Derek convinced you to take him home then… if you weren't drunk!"

He grinned as Derek punched him.

"It's the hair" said Cristina, finally speaking.

"And the smile of course…" added Izzie.

"Right… well, what's wrong with my hair and smile?" he asked the two of them just as Derek and Meredith started to talk quietly to each other.

"Uhm, nothing is wrong… it's just that the combination is not dreamy…" Izzie explained as Cristina kept nodding.

While the two of them tried to make him understand the difference from being _McDreamy _to being _McSteamy_ Derek and Meredith were making small talk.

"I was here yesterday night… I missed you, I know it's silly and you were working, but I did…"

"Really?" her green eyes were sparkling in the dim light.

"Yeah… Meredith, what I said to you the other night… I meant it. I really do love you, you know?"

"I, I think I do, but…"

"No, no buts Meredith. I don't want you to say it back, I just want you to know that I really am committed to you and I know I screwed up, but it won't happen again and I'll be waiting for you to give me a chance to prove it to you. All right?"

"All right… I suppose we could go out next time we both have the same night free…"

"Really?"

"Yeah…" she whispered.

"Okay…"

When Alex joined them with their drinks on a tray they both had a smile on their faces and Mark and Izzie exchanged a pleased look and a nod.

* * *

Later that night Derek had insisted on giving a ride home to Meredith, he just wasn't ready to part with her yet.

Ten minutes after the other three residents got inside the house, the couple was standing on the porch.

"I really had a good time tonight" he told her.

"I did too, Mark seemed to fit with my friends just fine…" she answered smiling.

"Yeah… even though I think he might try to get a date with Izzie…"

She laughed "he will never succeed, plus something is seriously wrong with her"

"Seriously?" Derek looked concerned.

"Well, yeah… ever since George had a fight with Callie… I don't know though, they probably had an argument or something. She's suffering though, I should ask her about it, but… sorry, I'm rambling. I don't think you care about this stuff"

"You're wrong, I care. They are your family, they love you and I want to fit in, if you're worried you can come up to me and tell me about it…"

She blushed prettily "okay" she whispered him.

"So… I would really like to stay here a bit more, but I'm waking up very early tomorrow…"

"Oh, okay…"

"Goodnight Meredith"

"Night Derek"

He bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek, but she turned around to give him a kiss as well. They met half-way. Their lips touched briefly, electricity was shot through their bodies. Seconds after the kiss was already over. Meredith opened her eyes and they locked with Derek's.

"Sleep tight…" he whisper inhaling the lavender scent.

"You too" she whispered back, opening the door and going inside the house.

Her friends were in the kitchen eating muffins. When she entered the room Cristina looked at her raising her eyebrows.

"What's up Meredith?" asked Izzie.

"We… we kissed, it was an accident, but we did kiss and, I missed that…"

"How could you kiss on accident?" asked Cristina as Izzie smiled to her friend.

"Well, he was bending down to kiss me on the cheek and I was about to do the same and our lips met instead…"

"That's good Mere… right?" Alex was smiling.

"Right" she said as she grabbed a muffin "he told me he loved me again tonight" she kept going after a brief pause.

"And what did you say?" Izzie was curious.

"Well, nothing really. He told me that he doesn't want me to say it back, he just wants me to know that he does and he's committed to me and he's sorry he screwed up after the ferryboat accident…"

"That's good" Izzie was nodding and smiling, Meredith deserved a man who loved her in her life, she had gone through too many wrong things in her life, always alone.

"Next time we both have the night off we're going on a real date" she finished.

"Great, you must be excited about that!"

"I actually am…" she answered looking at her blonde friend.

"Good, now… before we start exchanging secret journals or stuff like that I'm going to bed!"

"Ahhh, you would totally like that Karev!" Cristina was suppressing a laugh.

Alex just rolled he eyes "goodnight ladies…"

"Night Alex"

* * *

The day after Meredith was standing at the nurses station giving assignments to her interns. When the group jogged away she concentrated on the charts she was finishing up. She was about to run and get some labs she needed for an operation she was performing later on with Bailey when she stumbled right on her half sister, Lexie. Meredith was an avoider and she wasn't really prepared to talk with her, but the younger girl seemed to think differently.

"Hi, you are Meredith Grey… right? She mumbled nervously.

"Yup, that would be me…"

"I'm Lexie, Lexie Grey…"

"Yeah, George actually told me…"

"So, uhm… I know you probably hate my dad and everything, but… I just want you to know that I do not think my mother's death is your fault and I know he will understand that at some point…"

"Okay…"

"Uhm, I also know you do have friends already, but I'd really like to get to know you…"

"Well, I…"

"No rush, I'm not trying to force you or anything, but you are my half sister and I would like to get to know you. Just think about it, okay?"

Meredith could merely nod, Lexie was already speeding towards the elevator to go back to the ER.

* * *

It was about 8 o' clock at night when Meredith was waiting patiently for the elevator, she was stuck at the hospital for the night and she wanted some chips, badly, so she was heading towards the basement where Izzie and Alex were waiting for her. As the doors were opening she felt a rush behind there, somebody was running to get on the elevator with her, she didn't even have to look up to see who it was.

Derek smiled "Hi Mere…"

"Hi… going home?"

"Yeah, I'll probably stop to have a drink at Joe's first, but then I'm headed there… are you staying here?"

"Yes, I'm going to get junk food in the basement… Alex and Izzie are waiting for me over there"

"Sounds like fun…" he gave her a small smile "so, about that date thing…"

"Yeah… I'm free tomorrow night…"

"Well, I work until nine tomorrow… how about the day after?"

"Uhm, I have the night again…"

"This is harder than I though… how about this coming Friday? I'm on call on Thursday night, but then I don't have to be here until Saturday's afternoon…"

"Actually… I have Friday night and Saturday morning off as well…"

"So this is it? Friday night?"

"Yup… you got yourself a date…"

The elevators door opened in the lobby and Meredith got off with him, she decided to use the stairs to join her friends.

Their eyes locked for a moment and before she knew it she was talking to him about Lexie.

"My half sister talked to me today… you know, Lexie?"

"Yeah… Lexie Grey… she is the girl from the bar, you know?"

"The one you flirted with?"

"Yeah… I must have a radar for Grey girls in bars…"

"Maybe…" she was feeling sad suddenly.

"Hey… I swear that nothing happened and I didn't know her name… I wouldn't hurt you Meredith… do you believe me?"

"I actually do. It just makes me think, you know. I could have lost you…"

"No you could never lose me… I'm your _knight in shining whatever _and I'm here to stay… no matter how long it takes me to prove this to you…"

"Okay" she smiled looking up to him.

"What were you saying about Lexie?"

"We talked… she told me that she would like to get a chance to get to know me…"

"And what would you like?"

"Well, she seems nice, but… I'm a bit scared, what if Tatcher doesn't want me to get to know her?"

"Meredith, you should do what you feel like doing, if you'd like to get to know her you should do that. I'm sure she's old enough to take her own decisions and she did come up to talk to you, didn't she?"

"Yeah… you are probably right"

"I'm right most of the times…" he grinned at her.

"Your ego is big!" she grinned back.

"Well, I'd like to stay here a bit longer, but I'm warned out… I had four surgeries today"

"I can imagine…" she whispered staring at her feet.

"Goodnight Meredith…" he whispered bending to down and kissing her lightly on her left cheek.

"Night Der…" she whispered back smiling.

She then jogged towards the basement with that smile still on her face.

"What are you smiling about?" was the first thing Izzie said to her.

"I have a date next Friday, with Derek…"

"That's great Mere, I'm happy for you…"

Alex came with his hands full of junk food in that moment "what are you happy about?"

"Meredith and McDreamy have a date next Friday…"

"Wow… this is seriously a _dear diary_ moment…"

"Shut up!"

He gave Meredith and Izzie some chips and then he sat on one of the gurneys.

"What are you wearing?" asked Izzie.

"I have no idea… my half sister came talking to me today"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah…"

"And?"

"She would like to get to know me…"

"And this is good, right?"

"I think so… I mean, it's not her fault if her father is a moron, right?"

"Right…"

"Why are you so quiet Alex?" wondered Meredith a little later.

"I'm bored…"

Just as he finished the sentence their three pagers started beeping and the three of them ran towards the ER, surely the night was about to get more interesting.


	4. Baby steps

**AN: ****You probably thought I'd given up the story, but I have not.. I don't even know if anybody is still reading at this point, but I'll try and upload more often. I promise I'm going somewhere with it! Real life is just being busy and I had lost my manuscript.  
**

**I also replaced the first three chapters, there were some mistakes.. I have no beta unfortunately..**

The week passed by quickly and, before she knew it, Friday night had come and Meredith found herself staring at her clothes. She was trying on the tenth outfit when Izzie entered her room without knocking. She looked hopelessly at her friend.

"What am I going to wear?"

"Something that will take his breath away"

"Could you be a little more specific?"

"Well, let's see…" Izzie scanned her clothes "try this on" she added after a while handing her a deep green dress that Meredith had yet to wear.

She put it on and faced her friend.

The gown had a low-cut neckline, it was tied behind her neck, went just below her knees and left her back bare. She looked gorgeous and the color matched her eyes.

"This is perfect!"

"Seriously?" Meredith stared at her reflection in the mirror.

"Yeah, you just need to take off your bra and, maybe, cut the price tag!" Izzie grinned.

Meredith gave her a nervous smile and stepped out of the dress, handing it to her friend who proceed to get rid of the tag.

She then put it back on.

"Much better" murmured Izzie.

"Could you give me a hand with the hair Iz?" whispered Meredith nervously.

"I'd love to"

When Izzie was done Meredith's hair was curled in soft waves that framed her face. She then sat on the bed watching her friend putting a little bit of make up on. After a thin layer of foundation, a tad of blush and a touch of pink lip gloss she could have been done, but she decided to proceed with the eyes as well. She drew a grey line with the eyeliner and shadowed it with silver eye shadow, then she applied mascara and she was done,

"You look stunning! McDreamy is going to have a stroke" Izzie grinned at her.

Just as they were picking the shoes they heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it" yelled Cristina from the living room.

She opened the door and found and amazing looking Derek Shepherd holding a bouquet of lavender.

"Good evening Cr… Dr. Yang" he mumbled smiling.

"Whatever… you can call me Cristina" she said letting him in.

"Seriously?" he was surprised.

"Yeah McDreamy, seriously!" they were in the kitchen now.

"Do you happen to know where I can find a vase?"

"Do I look like a freaking housewife to you? Or worse, like Tinkerbell?"

He suppressed a laugh and opened a cabinet. He was lucky enough to find a vase in it, he filled it with fresh water and put the bouquet inside. He then put the vase on the counter.

"You cleaned up pretty nicely, you know" mumbled Cristina sizing him up. He was wearing a dark blue tuxedo with a light blue shirt and not tie. The shoes were the same colour of the tux and his hair was as dreamy as ever,

"Thanks.. I guess" he mumbled in response.

"So, where are you taking her?"

"It's a surprise.." he grinned.

"Come on, it's not like I have a chance to tell her before you guys leave"

"Well, I was about to get us reservations for the best restaurant in town, but I decided it was not what she would have liked our first real date to be.."

"So?" she was curious.

"So I decided to prepare dinner myself and eat at the trailer… this way we're finally going to get to know each other, I don't wanna blow this chance"

"That's cheesy, but it's probably going to work. After all you turned my person into a sap… next thing I know you'll be taking her to watch the latest chick flick and the movie theater!"

He grinned sheepishly.

"For what it's worth I'm glad to see you haven't given up on her, or I would have had to kill you and make it look like an accident!"

"You know... she really values your opinion…"

"Don't make me regret this, McDreamy!" she added smiling.

He smiled back "I won't"

Just then Izzie joined them in the kitchen.

"Meredith is taking her coat" she said, then she seized Derek up and added "wow… you look really handsome Derek!"

"Thank you Izzie"

He had just said that, when his heart skipped various beats and his mouth went hanging open.

Meredith had entered the room looking absolutely gorgeous.

"Hey…" was the only thing he managed to whisper.

"Hey yourself" she whispered back.

As they stared at each other, almost not believing what was happening, the world seemed to stop and Izzie swooned silently.

"Oh, for the love of God just help her in her coat and take her out already!" exclaimed Cristina impatiently.

It was like being pulled out of a trance. Derek closed the gap between himself and Meredith, he helped her with the coat and then whispered "ready?"

"Yeah… where are we going?"

"It's a surprise!"

She looked at him, eyes sparkling with hope and a small smile on her lips "good surprise?"

"I sure hope so!"

They went towards the door followed by Cristina.

"I'm out of here" my shift starts in half an hour… have fun you two!" she opened the door and found Alex on the porch.

The pair nodded hello to each other and he entered the house, closing the door behind himself.

"Wow… you look stunning Meredith!" he then looked at Derek "If she's not home by midnight I will hunt you down!"

Derek laughed hard, soon followed by the girls, Alex was the last one to crack up.

"Have fun!"

Derek and Meredith smiled at them and then waved, he opened the door to the passenger side and helped her in his car, then he started the drive towards the trailer.

* * *

"So… what are your plans for the night Iz?"

"Nothing much… what about you?"

"I don't know… I was kind of hoping to find you cooking dinner actually!"

"That can be fixed… care to help me out?"

"Yeah, why not? You should be aware that I don't have any cooking skills, though…"

"We'll see" she answered smiling at him.

Minutes later Alex was checking on the tomato sauce for the pasta, while Izzie was preparing the marinara sauce for the chicken breasts.

"See, you have some kitchen skills after all!" she said coming up behind him.

He looked at her sideways "checking up on the sauce doesn't equal to skills to me…"

"Yes it does!"

"If you say so…"

There was a brief pause.

"What's wrong with you Izzie?"

"What?" Why would something be wrong with me? I'm fine…"

"I'm your friend… just remember that… if you ever wanna talk about it, I'm here!"

Lying was not an option anymore "okay… thank you Alex" she whispered giving him a small smile.

"Anytime" he answered "so, how do we know when the sauce is ready?"

"Well, we've got to taste it to be sure"

"Uhm, okay.." he grabbed a wooden spoon and dipped it in the pan, then he blew on its contents and offered it to Izzie.

She enjoyed the taste of the warm sauce in her mouth and gave him a _thumbs up_ sign "it's perfect!"

* * *

When Derek helped Meredith out of his car in front of the trailer she was speechless. The table on the porch was already set and a bucket with cold wine was in the middle of it.

"Welcome to _Chez Derek_…" he whispered in her ear "I'm sorry you dressed up so nicely to come here"

"Don't be, I've always loved the trailer" she whispered back as he lit the candles on the porch and the table "what are we having?"

"This is the best part… you get to help me with the dinner. We need to cook the pasta and warm up the sauce, check the salmon in the oven and make the salad…"

"You seem to have forgotten the fact that I have no cooking skills whatsoever"

"I have not, I just believe that you can put together a salad and help me while I check on the food"

She stared at him rising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Come on, put this shirt on top of your dress so you won't ruin it" he added giving her one of his striped shirts.

She did as told and joined him in the kitchen, he was stirring the pasta sauce; a great smell was coming from the small oven.

"So, where am I supposed to start?"

"There are tomatoes, baby carrots, lettuce and corn in the sink. You have to wash everything except for the corn since it's canned"

He grinned at her as she washed the vegetables. She then proceeded to cut the tomatoes and the lettuce, the she filled a bowl with the four ingredients and some olives and mixed them.

"Where to I find dressing?"

"We'll do that later on, come here and check the sauce" he handed her a spoon.

She chewed it absentmindedly.

"This is great, I had no idea you were this good"

"What can I say… I'm full of surprises. You know, I was so excited about dinner that I forgot to ask you if you like seafood, it's a little too late for that now" he looked sheepishly at her, the McDreamy smile making its way on his face.

"I happen to love it, it reminds me of my childhood"

"Happy memories, I hope"

"Yeah, the best ones. I used to go to the fish market with my dad on Friday, we would get shrimps and fry them for lunch, then we'd clean up some really exquisite and expensive fish and prepare it for dinner. After and afternoon in the park we'd go pick up my mom and dine together then, if it was a good night, we'd go have ice cream by the ferries…" she smiled.

"Sounds like a good way to spend the day to me…"

"Yeah, how about you? How do you know how to cook fish?"

"Well, my dad taught me, he was a doctor, but his father was a fisherman from Maine and a great cook too"

"A fisherman? I see… now this passion of yours makes sense!"

"What passion of mine?" he asked closing the gap between them and pressing her into the counter.

She was having troubles breathing evenly. His arms were trapping her, she could feel his firm body pressing onto her smaller one and all she could do was stare into his deep blue eyes. He got closer, their lips now inches apart. She licked her bottom lip in anticipation. He inhaled her lavender scent, then pressed his mouth on hers silencing her moans. He kissed her with passion, exploring every inch of her mouth in slow motion earning other moans from her. She was kissing back just as fiercely, her hand tangled in his dark curls, his making its way below his very own shirt.

Then the sound of the oven interrupted them, signaling that the salmon was ready. They pulled back and locked eyes.

"That was…" she whispered.

"… amazing" he finished, turning the oven off "I don't think I would have been able to stop though, it's a good thing the oven interrupted us"

"Yeah… not that I wasn't liking it, but it's too soon"

He nodded giving her his best McDreamy smile "let's have dinner then"

They sat outside, the night was crisp but pleasant. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her. The dress hugged her curves perfectly and the sight of Meredith in it was making it difficult to concentrate on anything else and made him whish the oven hadn't stopped them. She was right about being to soon, but holding her and kissing her had felt so right and he couldn't pretend nothing was going on.

"I missed this" he finally admitted.

"What?" she asked looking expectantly back at him.

"Me and you at the trailer… kissing you… you taking my breath away… take your pick" he honestly responded.

She wasn't able to answer right away, the she forced herself to speak "I missed this too"

"Me taking your breath away?" he teased.

"No…" she smiled "you and me at the trailer, kissing you, spending time with you…" her eyes were boring into his soul "making love to you…" she finally whispered.

He chocked on the wine he was drinking, talking about making love didn't really help at this moment.

"It's too soon, but it doesn't mean I don't think about it" she quietly added.

"I think about it too, every night actually, but I don't wanna rush you and I don't wanna waste my chance this time" he said without breaking eye contact.

"Good, I don't want either…"

"You really are an amazing cook" she added after a small pause "I never tried pasta with shrimps and zucchini before, it's delicious" she beamed.

"I'm full of surprises" he grinned.

"Hopefully all of them are as good as tonight's ones"

He just kept on grinning, probably like an idiot, but he was enjoying talking to her just as much as he had enjoyed making out with her minutes earlier.

"Ready for the salmon?" he asked when she was done.

"Yup, do you need help with the salad?"

"That'd be great, you were the one that made it after all. Don't spill dressing on that gorgeous dress of yours though"

"I promise" she grinned as they went back inside the trailer.

* * *

Later on as Derek was cleaning up and Meredith was sipping coffee; Alex and Izzie were cleaning up as well.

"Dinner was great Iz!"

"Thanks" she barely whispered.

She was being awfully quiet and he wasn't liking it. She passed him the plates she had cleaned and he started to dry them, staring at her in the mean time. She felt his eyes on her and looked up, staring back.

"I slept with George" she said finally, breaking the silence.

"What? Why? When?" he was about to drop the plates, so he put them on the counter along with the towel.

"Shh… let me explain, all right?" he merely nodded and she kept going "A couple of months ago George had a fight with Callie and he came over with alcohol, we talked and got really drunk, next thing I know I woke up next to him the following morning… he was really weird with him afterwards and, worse of all, I even thought I was falling in love with him…"

Alex interrupted her "sorry?"

"I thought I was falling in love with him, but I wasn't. I love him, but I'm not in love with him, he's like a brother, that's all. But now everything is so complicated and he didn't tell Callie and he failed his inter exam and… I don't know Alex, I'm just a bad person I suppose"

"No you aren't. You were both weak, the only difference is that you don't have a husband"

"But still, I'm supposed to be his best friend and I might have ruined his marriage forever… I just feel so bad"

He swooped her into a hug and gave her a kiss on her forehead "What do you say we get out of here?"

"What's your plan?"

"I haven't seen Joe in a while… way too long for my liking"

"I like your thinking" she smiled.

"Let's get going"

* * *

An hour and four strawberry margaritas later Izzie was definitely drunk, but she was feeling much better, having told Alex made the thing more real somehow, but it was like she had lifter a huge weight from her chest.

"Thank you Alex" she slurred as he sipped the only beer he had ordered that night.

"Don't even mention it" he gave her a sincere smile.

She smiled back and then pointed excitedly at the door "look Alex! It's Meredith and McDreamy!" she waved at them.

He turned around and noticed the couple entering the bar, they were by far the most elegant people in the room, he motioned for them to come over and the pair strolled towards them hand in hand.

They nodded hello to each other.

"Hey Meredith, you wanna know something? I'm drunk!"

The other girl smiled "so I noticed…"

"You want something to drink Mere?"

"A beer is fine" she answered taking a seat next to Izzie at the table.

Derek went towards Joe to place the order.

"How's it going Doc?"

"Great!" he smiled as Joe spotted Meredith and handed him the beer and the scotch.

"I'm glad to see you both here, smiling"

"Not as much as I am" he answered placing a 20 on the counter.

"Nah… this one is on the house Doc!"

"Oh… all right, thanks a lot. How are Walter and the kids?"

"Great, they're a handful, but Walter is so great with them"

"Good…" he smiled and went back to the table.

He handed Meredith her beer and sat down next to her. She smiled and clinked the beer bottle with his glass before taking a sip.

"Hey McDreamy… you know I really like you?" Izzie said excitedly.

He smiled "that's good to know… I really like you too"

"Good! That means you both won't be mad at me once you'll find out I slept with George, right?" she paused looking at the couple then added "Crap! Did I say that out loud?"

Alex patted her on the back as she collapsed on the table.

"Is she serious?" wondered Meredith quietly.

He merely nodded.

"Do you think this is the reason she was being so quiet?" added Derek truly concerned.

The other two nodded "must be"

"You know I'll never judge you, right Izzie?"

"Seriously?" she said in a small voice.

"Of course… and I'm in no place to judge looking at all the mistakes I've made"

"Ouch" Derek looked at her a lopsided grin on his face.

"I didn't imply that you were a mistake… sleeping with random guys and with George was a mistake though, so I really am in no place to judge"

"Same here… I cheated on my wife, even though she cheated on me first, and I never told the girl I was falling in love with that I was married"

Meredith squeezed his hand "we're starting fresh, remember?"

He nodded smiling.

Alex moved the rest of Izzie's fifth margarita away "I'm the one who did worse, because I cheated on the girl I loved with a girl I didn't even care about and I did it because I was scared…"

Meredith smiled sympathetically while Iz looked at him "are you talking about me, Alex?"

He nodded sheepishly as she passed out on the table.

Derek and Alex stood up and helped her off the booth, Meredith grabbed Izzie's things and waved goodbye to Joe, the foursome made it to the parking lot.

The men managed to get Izzie in the passenger seat, the Alex proceeded to take her home; Derek and Meredith followed closely his car.

Once home Alex took Izzie upstairs to her room, he got her in her pajamas and tucked her into bed, The he put a glass of water and some aspirin on her bedside table and a trashcan by the bed.

"Sweet dreams" he whispered kissing the top of her head.

"I love you Alex…" she slurred in her sleep and he couldn't help but smile.

He then went downstairs and found Derek and Meredith in the kitchen, the coffee pot was on, he was sitting on a chair and she was looking for something in the freezer.

She turned around triumphantly, holding a bucket of double chocolate chip ice cream and put it on the counter.

"How's she?"

"She's out like a light" he mumbled.

Meredith handed the both of them a spoon and, turning around, she noticed the bouquet in the vase.

She smiled and locked eyes with Derek.

"Why didn't you show them to me when you picked me up?"

He shrugged "you took my breath away when you came down…. Do you like them?"

"I love them" she beamed as the three of them were eating ice cream straight out of the bucket.

When the coffee was ready both Alex and Meredith poured some on top of the ice cream they had set previously in two bowls, Derek made a face, but Meredith made him taste some and proceeded to make himself a bowl as well.

They finished both the ice cream and the coffee and Alex busied himself cleaning in order to give them some alone time.

"It's really coming down hard out there" mumbled Meredith looking outside the living room window.

"Yeah, in fact I'd better go if I want to find my trailer without getting lost"

"Do you want to stay over here? On the couch… I mean" she struggled with the words, she didn't want the night to end.

His heartbeat quickened and a smile made its way on his face "I suppose spending the night is something that usually happens on a fifth date… we've just had our first"

"Oh…" she mumbled embarrassed.

"Meredith…" he lifted her chin up and looked straight into her eyes "I'd love to spend the night, but I don't want to rush things between us, I want to prove you what you mean to me…"

She smiled and nodded.

"But… I'd really like to have breakfast with you tomorrow, since we're both off…"

"I'd love that"

"Is it okay if I pick you up at 9:30?"

"That's perfect" she grinned.

He closed the distance between them, encircling her with his arms. She closed her eyes as his lips came in contact with hers. A soft moan escaped her mouth as her hands made, once again, their way into his hair. When the need of oxygen became too strong to be ignored they pulled apart, both craving for more.

He stared at her swollen lips, the lips he had made red with his kiss.

"Goodnight Meredith" he whispered kissing her tenderly one last time "sleep tight"

"Goodnight Derek" she whispered back smiling "see you tomorrow morning"

He opened the door and disappeared into the night with his car.

Meredith went back into the kitchen and found Alex having a glass of water.

"Shepherd left?" he seemed surprised.

She nodded "we don't wanna rush things"

"That's good"

"Yeah…" she took a sip from his glass.

"I'm really happy for you Mere"

"That you" she said smiling "I'm really happy as well"

He put the glass in the sink and headed to the stairs, Meredith tailing behind him.

Once they were in front of her door she gave him a small hug "goodnight Alex"

"Night Mere"

They both fell asleep quickly, their dreams filled with images of the people they loved.

**AN2: Now the lavender accident happened because I forgot about it, and since Derek was a gentleman and brought her flowers I thought it would have been nice for her to notice. I'm already working on chapter 5, it should come along pretty soon.**


	5. Wait for you

**AN : See? I'm doing better already… ****this chapter wanted to get out of my head as fast as possible, so here I am posting it. Thank you to ****MissRe**** for pointing out I was spelling Cristina's name wrong.. whatever mistake you find, go ahead and tell me; I have no beta, so mistakes are hard to find!**

After breakfast the morning following their first date, Derek and Meredith managed to go on another three dates and hung out with Meredith's friends and Mark, at Joe's, whenever they had the chance. Almost a month had passed and, this Friday, Derek was taking her on their fifth official date, and he had no idea where to take her.

Friday morning didn't start in the greatest way, he didn't hear his alarm, the coffee maker didn't have any intention to work and he had to take a cold shower. All of this added up to him being late, he rushed through the hospital's doors after finding a parking spot way too far away for his liking and almost knocked down the only occupant of the elevator.

"Uoaa there Shep… where's the fire?" Mark Sloane was holding a steamy cup of coffee.

"Running late for my surgery" he managed to choke, while pressing the surgery floor button.

Mark looked at him sympathetically "rough morning?" he winked.

"There was no sex involved, but yeah… everything went wrong this morning"

"Sorry about that, at least you get to go out with Grey tonight, don't you?"

"Yeah, that's probably going to be the only highlight of the day though…"

"Here, have my coffee" he handed Derek the cup "I have time to go get another one"

He grinned "you're a lifesaver!"

Mark didn't have a chance to respond, because the other doctor speeded out of the elevator towards the OR, where his patient was already being prepped.

* * *

At lunchtime Mark and Derek sat together, the first eating a burger, the latter a chicken salad "so, what's the plan?"

Derek was caught off guard "plan?"

"I'm talking about tonight, where are you taking Meredith?"

"Oh yeah… about that, I have no idea. We've already had dinner in that new Italian place she wanted to try, we went to the Mexican restaurant and had dinner at the trailer. Last time we dined on the Space Needle and had ice creams at the ferryboats dock, I don't know about tonight…" he looked at his friend expectantly.

"Are you asking my advice? You know I never plan a thing… I go over at Joe's, grab a drink, meet a girl and, next thing I know, we wake up in bed together… especially after Addison left"

"How about dinner and a movie?"

"That always worked in High School" smirked Mark.

Derek shrugged "I don't have any clever idea…"

"Hey, I think it's fine… you guys love each other, it doesn't matter where you take her tonight, what matters is that you spend time together…"

Derek stared at him, his salad forgotten and Mark kept talking "I see the two of you together and I realize I'm missing out, but you have to find the right person in order to have a special bond like you guys, she makes you happy and you do as well…"

"You think so?"

"Yup, so I really think it won't matter where you take her tonight…"

"I always knew you were a romantic at heart…"

"Shut up!"

"I mean… you did spend an awful time with Nancy and Kaytlen, watching chick flicks where we were growing up…"

"That was just to get tips, so I could get into their friends' pants…"

"As long as you stayed away from their pants…"

Mark grinned "Sisters are off limits, unless you fall in love with them or something…"

Derek nodded and went back to his salad, planning the evening in his head.

* * *

He picked her up at seven and started driving towards the mall close by her house, where there were a big movie theater, a bowling alley and a huge food court, she could have picked whatever she felt like for dinner.

"Dinner and a movie, Derek? Seriously?"

"Hey, it's something we've never done before…" he defended himself.

"I think it's cute…" she reassured him, a big smile on her face.

"Don't tell Cristina though, I think she'd kill me if she knew I was taking you to watch a chick flick…"

"We're also watching a chick flick?" she marveled.

"Yeah, I figured it would have been a nice way to relax a little…"

"You're very thoughtful"

"So I've been told…"

"By whom?" she crooked an eyebrow.

"My sisters… they always told me their friends found me thoughtful and sensitive…"

"Didn't they find you hot?"

"I wasn't very good looking in High School…"

"I'm not buying this Derek!"

"I'm serious… I was skinny, I had acne and braces, I also played in the band and I loved science"

"How in the world were you friends with Mark, then?"

"First of all, we've been friends since kindergarten, his parents were away most of the time, so he hung out at my house a lot, when he didn't have football practice and he hated English Literature and Spanish, so I had to help him with the first and my sister Kaytlen helped him with the Spanish…"

"So, let me get this straight… Mark was the jock of your High School and you were a nerd, but you were best friends anyway?"

"Pretty much… even though I did improve a little in my Junior year"

"How so?"

"I got rid of the acne and I wasn't so thin anymore, I joined the basketball team as playmaker… I was still nerdy though"

"But the basketball team helped, I bet…"

"Yeah, I started to go on dates and to some parties… and I found myself my first girlfriend"

She grinned "how was she like?"

"Michelle Johnson, she was petite and had messy blonde hair, you remind me of her actually, even though you're not as girly as she was… she could have never become a doctor!"

"And how did it end?"

"Well, I went to Columbia and she went to college in California, so we kind of drifted apart… she studied journalism though, I think she went back to New York right after, her children go to the same school as my sister Sarah's kids"

"Aren't you curious?"

"About what?" he turned right an entered the mall parking lot.

"Don't you ever wander how your life would have been different if you had married her?"

"I did think about that a couple of times… she was very sweet, I'm sure she's a wonderful wife and mother, but no, I don't think we would have been good together, at least not while in college, she would have had to put up to me while I was doing med school and then the residency, it would have been hard for anyone, except for another doctor… that's why I fell in love with Addison, we both knew what we were going through…" he had finally found a spot and parked the car.

Meredith looked at him "I feel like we're just starting to really get to know each other, you know…"

"Yeah, I'm getting the same feeling… it's a good thing though, right?"

"Very" she reassured him getting out of the car.

He grabbed her hand as they walked to the mall's entrance, the food court was very close by.

"I'd like to continue this conversation, but tell me what you feel like eating first…"

"Uhm… pizza and sushi, oh and ice cream for dessert…"

"That's a weird combination and isn't sushi too healthy for your standards?" he grinned.

"I love California rolls and it's not a weird combination at all…"

"All right then, I feel like eating sushi as well and if you think sushi and pizza is not a weird combination I shall try them together…"

She smiled and led him to the sushi bar.

After they had gotten their dinner they sat and started eating the vegetarian-pepperoni pizza they had decided to share.

Once they were done with their food they locked eyes, Derek got up and emptied their trays in the trashcan, then he went back to the table.

"I know you said you wanted ice cream for dessert, but I was wondering if you wanted to go get the tickets for the movie first…"

"Yeah, what movie did you pick, by the way?"

"Uhm, I wanted to go watch _Knocked up_… would that be all right?"

"Yeah, I've heard it's very funny!"

The couple strolled towards the movie theater and Derek paid for the tickets, then they went back to the food court to get ice cream.

They sat on the same table and, while savoring their desserts they started talking again.

"So, I already told you about my first girlfriend… now I think you should tell me something!"

"You know I never had a real boyfriend before you…"

"I know, but you could tell me what your first kiss was like…"

"Ok, it was sixth grade, my first formal and this super cute boy I had a crush on had invited this girl I hated… I had gone with my neighbor and, once we were dancing, this girl came over and asked me to trade partners because she wanted my neighbor… I told her no because it wouldn't have been very nice, but Eddie, that was his name, knew I had a crush on Billy so he let me go and I danced with Billy for the rest of the night, once the formal ended he gave me my first kiss…"

"That's kind of cute… how come Billy wasn't your first boyfriend then?"

"Because we were eleven!" she smirked and added "now tell me about your first kiss…"

"It was the summer before eighth grade and my sisters had organized a pajama party, Mark and I were there as well and there was this girl… Emily Timberlaind, she was on of the most popular girl in High School and she would have never considered me if she didn't know my sisters… we were playing Truth or Dare and Mark knew I had a thing for her, so when it was her turn she picked dare and he made her kiss me…"

"So you've gotten your first kiss because of Mark?"

"Pretty much…"

"Talking about a real friend…"

"I know, he could have easily kissed her because she liked him, but he made her kiss me instead…" he laughed slightly.

"What's so funny?"

"She wasn't that good of a kisser actually…"

"Really? But how did you know… it was your first kiss after all!"

"Well, I didn't know back then, but I understood she wasn't once I got more experience…"

"I see… Billy was a great kisser actually, so I guess my first kiss kind of beats yours, right?"

"Totally… you know what?"

She looked at him expectantly "all this talking about kissing made me think about something…"

"And what's that?" she had a feeling about where this was going.

"Well, we haven't kissed hello tonight…"

"You're right… we should definitely do something about it"

He nodded, put down his spoon and closed the distance between him and Meredith. Their lips were now mere inches apart and he could feel her breath tingling his lips. He pressed his mouth on hers and tasted the strawberry ice cream and the sprinkles and then something that was uniquely Meredith. His tongue begged for entrance and she allowed him in, tasting her fully in his mouth. She felt the taste of the coffee ice cream he had ordered and her mind went blank. The kiss was slow and passionate, both tasting the other's mouths.

When he let go of her mouth, he dropped a chaste kiss on her swollen lips. She smiled and looked at the time "I suppose we should go, the movie is about to start"

He nodded and cleared the table once again. The he grabbed her hand and they walked towards the bar to get pop-corn and a soda before entering the theater.

* * *

When the movie was over the pair slowly made their way to the parking lot and entered the car, chattering surrounding them.

"It was a good movie" she whispered.

"Very funny" he added.

"I needed that…"

"I did too… our date wasn't so lame after all was it?"

"I never said it was, Derek!"

"I bet you did think it a little though, I don't think I've done dinner and a movie since Sophomore year of College…"

"It was my first time with a guy" she interrupted him quietly.

"Ohh…" he recovered for the stupor quickly "I'm glad it was with me" he smiled.

"Me too" she answered grabbing his hand as he started the car to go back to her place.

The ride home passed quickly, the pair didn't talk much, but the silence was comfortable.

"Come in for coffee…"

"All right" he parked the car and followed her in the house.

Chatter was coming from the living room.

The found Izzie, Alex and Cristina sipping beer while watching some kind of reality show.

"Hey" Alex acknowledged their presence "want a beer?" he asked.

"Yeah, why not. I'll go get them in the kitchen" answered Derek.

"I was about to get up myself, we're all out"

Both men went towards the kitchen as Meredith sat down on the couch next to Cristina.

"How was the date?" wondered Izzie.

"Great!"

"What did McDreamy plan?" added Cristina.

"Dinner and a movie down at the mall and we also had ice cream…"

Izzie beamed "dinner and a movie? Seriously? I need to have a talk with that guy" snorted the other girl.

"He knew you wouldn't have appreciated his choice, but I really had a great time, we talked a lot about our past and the movie was really funny and the strawberry ice cream is awesome down at that ice cream parlor"

"Well then… I'm happy for you" her person answered straight away "are you going to have sex with him though? I mean, it's been over a month that you two are going out…"

"We've only been on five real dates though, our schedules have been hectic"

"I understand if you want to take it slow" nodded Izzie.

"I don't wanna waste this chance, I already know he's the one, but… I'm a bit afraid. The sex has never been a problem between us, is the rest that gives me a headache!"

"I think it's cute… you guys should really get to know each other this time and do things the right way"

"I gotta agree with Tinkerbell on this one" added Cristina "you did kiss each other though, right?"

"Of course, I'm enjoying the kissing very much"

"Good for you" they both nodded, then Cristina yelled "Evil spawn, where are the beers?"

The men came back in the living room, they had stayed in the kitchen a while longer in order to give the girls some time to chat.

They watched TV, drinking beers and chatting for about an hour, then, after looking at the time, they decided to go to bed. Derek was getting ready to leave, the other three had decided to go in the kitchen to give the couple some privacy.

"Don't go" whispered Meredith.

"We can hang out for another while if you'd like… but I thought you were sleepy"

"I am tired"

"Then we'll see each other tomorrow, Meredith… I don't want you to fall asleep in the OR!"

"Do you remember what you told me after our first date?"

"Uhm… are you talking about spending the night?"

"Yeah…" she said sheepishly.

"Are you asking me to spend the night here?" he double-checked.

"I'm pretty sure I am"

"Ohh…" he was speechless.

"If you don't want to it's fine, really… I mean, it's probably too soon… well, considering that we've just been on our fifth…" he interrupted her in the only way that seemed reasonable, by kissing her fully on her mouth.

"I'll take that as a yes" she whispered when they stopped kissing.

"You better" he grinned.

"Guys, you can come out of the kitchen now! We're going to bed…"

"We? As in more than two people?" wondered Cristina.

"I thought you were taking things slow…" added Alex, Izzie elbowed him in the ribs and grabbed his arm; they both whished Cristina goodnight and disappeared upstairs.

"Night Cristina" added Derek going upstairs as well.

"Hey you" she stopped Meredith "don't do anything I wouldn't do" she smirked.

"I told you, we're taking things slow… he's just going to sleep here, next to me, no sex involved"

"Whatever you say…" she grinned "goodnight Mere!"

"Night Cristina"

As one went upstairs, the other laid down on the couch where she had been sleeping in the last 45 days, it was maybe time to go back home, but could she consider Burke's apartment her home?

Meredith entered her room, after passing in front of Izzie's room where her and Alex were talking quietly on the bed "night guys"

"Night Mere"

She closed the door behind herself and joined Derek in the room.

"I still have your toothbrush and some of your clothes in there…" she said pointing to her closet.

"I didn't know you had kept them…"

"I supposed that, even if I though we were over, I knew we never really were"

The pair went into the bathroom and brushed their teeth, then they came out and got into their PJ.

They laid down next to each other, Meredith handed him earplugs and he smiled.

"Goodnight" they whispered to each other exchanging one last kiss.

They fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

The morning after was hectic, the five doctors had breakfast together, after they had each taken a shower, and then they rushed to the hospital, the residents all drove together, except Meredith that caught a ride with Derek. It was just like old times.

"I have to go… I have rounds with my interns in, ten minutes"

"Go ahead" he smiled.

"See you at lunch?"

"You bet" he leaned in for a kiss that went on a bit longer than it should have and forced Meredith to run all the way to the Residents locker room.

Derek waited for the elevator to open and smiled when he saw who was inside.

"Derek, my man… how was your date?"

"Great!" he beamed.

"Did you get lucky?" Mark smirked.

"Not in the sense you mean, but… I did get lucky, I spent the night at her house and I woke up with her in my arms…"

"That's corny!"

"I don't care..."

"I already told you what I really think about the two of you…"

Derek nodded "we were thinking about having a barbecue next weekend, we're both free and her friends are off as well, what about you?"

"I suppose I could switch with somebody, I missed the barbecues we used to have when we were growing up…"

"Me too!"

The elevator's doors opened and they both went off.

"See you at lunch?"

"Meredith will be there"

"And three's a crowd?"

"Nah, I think the entire gang will tag along, so it's all right…"

"See you later then!"

**AN2: I'm not entirely happy with the ending of the chapter, but I'm pretty content about the chapter itself, it lacked Izzie and Alex though and I know it probably looks like I've forgotten about George and his problems, but I have not. I promised.**

**Now, if you'd like to click the pretty button a leave me a review I'll be the happiest gal around!**

**PS sorry for the double alert about the chapter posting, I had forgotten about lienbreakers!**


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